Birmingham: Tolkien’s Newman statue finds new home

Newman statue by Tim Tolkein

A bronze statue of Blessed Cardinal Newman, created by the great nephew of legendary Birmingham author JRR Tolkien, has been erected at Newman University College in Birmngham. The life-size statue was blessed by the Pope during his visit to Cofton Park in 2010 and is now on permanent loan to Newman where it has been erected in the quad.

Professor Peter Lutzeier, principal and chief executive of Newman, said: “We’re delighted to be home to the statue, which is a truly inspirational piece of work in every sense. As well as having very strong links with the city of Birmingham, Cardinal Newman was an academic and one of the great thinkers of his day so it is entirely appropriate that the statue should reside on our campus.

“A strong believer in the value of higher education for the development of the whole person, not just to impart subject knowledge, he made significant contributions to debate around the role of higher education in society and was also responsible for instigating the tutorial system, which is used in universities to this day.”

The statue, which was fabricated from steel before being sprayed with bronze, was created by Tim Tolkien and blacksmith Chris Yeomans, for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the city on 19 September 2010. It depicts the Cardinal seated on a chair with a book and pen on a small table at his side. A respected sculptor, Mr Tolkien also created the landmark Sentinel sculpture, which stands at the entrance to Castle Vale estate and features three Spitfires peeling into the sky in different directions.

Newman University College is a Catholic higher education institution based in Bartley Green, Birmingham and historically enjoys one of the highest graduate employment rates of any higher education institution in the country. Founded in 1968, Newman was awarded University College status in 2007 and was recommended for full university status in 2012. With a strong reputation for teacher training, it also offers a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and foundation degree courses covering a range of subjects, primarily in the fields of humanities and social sciences.

It was recognised in the Top 10 UK universities for quality of teaching in the Sunday Times Good University Guide 2013 and is one of a select group of 15 higher education institutions to gain three ‘high’ ratings in the Which? University Guide.